Disinfectant device for mouthpieces.



A. E. LE FORD.

DISINFECTANT DEVICE FOR MOUTHPIECBS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 19, 1911.

flmdlz a E. 1161 002 AMELIA E. LE FORD, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

DISINFECTANT DEVICE FOR MOUTHPIECES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 19, 1911.

Patented Apr. 2, 1912.

Serial No. 639,281.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AMELIA E. LE FORD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented new and useful Improvements in Disinfectant Devices forMouthpieces, of which the follow ing is a specification.

This invention relates to a disinfectant device for monthpieces ofspeaking tubes, telephones or the like, being particularly adapted foruse upon the latter, the object of the invention being to provide adevice which can be readily applied to any well known form of mouthpieceand act as a distributer for effectively conveying the disinfectantfumes to the mouthpiece.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device which willinclude-a receptacle for the disinfectant that can be convenientlyapplied to or removed from the mouthpiece and provided with a cupportion wherein may be arranged an absorbent member or disinfectant.

In the drawing, forming a portion of this specification and in whichlike numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views:Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a telephone showing themouthpiece thereof in section and illustrating the application of mydisinfecting device there to. Fig. 2 is a front view of the mouthpieceand the disinfectant device showing the mouthpiece of the deviceremoved. Fig. 3 is a transverse section through a portion of the deviceshowing the disinfectant container.

My improved disinfecting device comprises a casing member 1 which iscircular in cross section and flared throughout so that the small end ofthe member is disposed outermost and located in advance of themouthpiece A of the transmitter B of the telephone herein shown. Themember 1 is provided with adjustable set screws or other suitablefastening devices 2 which are adapted for engagement with thetransmitter, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to hold the device securely inplace thereon. At the small end of the member 1 is a substantiallyfunnel member 3. This member has its inner small end extended into themouthpiece A of the telephone and slightly in advance of the mouthpiecethe member 3 is provided with an annular series of perforations 4through which the disinfectant odors or The member 1, at its outer endis upset, at 6,

and secured to the outer large end of the member 3.

A disinfectant cup or receptacle 7 is mounted on one side of the member1 exteriorly thereof. This cup is preferably supported by a bracket 8which is secured to the member 1. Adjacent to the upper end the cup isprovided with a discharge tube 9. This tube extends upwardly andoutwardly from the cup so that its discharge end is disposed above theplane of the cup. This member is such that the cup can be filled to itscapacity without liability of the disinfectant overflowing. The tube 9extends through the passage 10 in the member 1 and its inner end islocated in the chamber 5.

In use, the disinfecting device is applied to the telephone mouthpiece Aand a suitable disinfectant is placed in the cup 7. A cover 11 isremovably fitted to the cup so that the odors of the disinfectant willbe held against direct distribution to the outside air, it being mydesire that the odors be conveyed by way of the tube 9 into the chamber5 defined by the members 1 and 3 respectively, and the mouthpiece A ofthe telephone, so that the odors will be permitted to circulate in thechamber and discharged therefrom into the member 3 of the attachment byway of the passages 4 therein. If desired cotton or a like absorbentelement can be placed in the cup and saturated with a liquiddisinfectant.

I claim:

1. A disinfecting device for telephone mouthpieces comprising a memberadapted to be secured to the telephone transmitter, an inwardly reducedmember secured within the first member and adapted to be partly extendedinto the mouthpiece of the telephone and arranged with respect to themouthpiece of the telephone and the said first named member and sofashioned as to form an intervening chamber therebetween to entirelysurround the mouthpiece, and a disinfectant container communicating withthe chamber, the said second member having a passage therein which opensat one end into the chamber and at the opposite end into the container.

2. The combination with a telephone transmitter and a mouthpiecetherefor, of a disinfecting device comprising a member having means forengaging the transmitter, the said member being extended beyond theouter end of the mouthpiece, a second member secured to the outer end ofthe first member and extending into the mouthpiece and provided in frontof the mouthpiece with a plurality of perforations, and a disinfectantcontainer opening into the said first member so as to permit the fumesof the disinfectant to be discharged through the. perforations of thesecond member.

3. The combination with a telephone transmitter and a mouthpiecetherefor, of a disinfecting device, the said device including a memberembracing the mouthpiece and detachably secured to the transmitter, asecond member secured to the outer end of the first member, the saidsecond member being of an inwardly reduced'construction and having itssmall end fitted in the mouthpiece, the said second member havingperforations therein located at a point in advance of the mouthpiece,and a disinfectant container supported by the first member and openingdirectly thereinto.

4. The combination with a telephone transmitter and a mouthpiecetherefor, of a disinfecting device comprising inner and outer members,one of the members being adapted to be secured to the transmitter of thetelephone, the other member being extended into the mouthpiece andprovided in advance of the mouthpiece with a circular series ofopenings, a disinfectant container supported by the outer member, and atube extending upwardly and outwardly from the container and having itsinner end disposed within the outer member and arranged above the planeof said container.

5. The combination with a telephone transmitter and a mouthpiecetherefor; of a member embracing the mouthpiece and removably fitted tothe transmitter, a second member secured to the outer end of the firstmember and inwardly reduced to fit within the mouthpiece of thetransmitter and defining with the mouthpiece and with the outer memberwalls of an intervening chamber between the mouthpiece and the outermember, the inner member being provided at a point forwardly of themouthpiece with perforations, and a disinfectant container secured tothe first member and provided with a tube which extends into thechamber, whereby the fumes emanating from the disinfectant will bedistributed into the chamber and conveyed by way of the perforations insaid second member to a point in front of the mouthpiece of thetransmitter.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

V, AMELIA E. LE FORD. \Vitnesses ALICE B. NEWELL, M. W. WETMORE.

Copies, of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

